Oil-can.



N0. saws. Patented June 5, 1900.

n. LOWE.

OIL CAN.

(Application filed Oct. 20, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROBERT LOWE, OF WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF FIVE-SIXTHS TO FREDERICK MOKEE, OF SAME PLACE, AND JOHN H. MOGINTY AND WVIL- LIAM. J. HOLWAY, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO.

OIL-CAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 651,313, dated June 5, 1900.

Application filed October 20, 1899- Serial No. 734,200. (No model.)

To all whom it mag concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT LOWE, a resident of Washington, in the county of Washington and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Oil- Oans and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof. Y My invention relates to oil-cans of the class having tubular spouts or nozzles through which oil is forced by pressure or caused to flow by gravity when the can is inverted, and especially-to that class of oil-cans provided with an attachment for clearing obstructions from the outlet of the nozzle and for permit- I 5 ting the flow of the oil through the nozzle when it becomes viscous and sluggish because of low temperature or from any other cause. The object of my invention is to provide a device of the characterindicated in which all the parts may be readily separated for the purpose of cleaning them and in which the parts are made readily interchangeable, so that in case one or more of the same becomes broken or bent it may be readily replaced,

thereby obviating the necessity of throwingv away the entire can, as has heretofore been the case.

With these ends in view I have devised the improvements shown in the accompanying 3o drawings, in whichv Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the oil-can, showing the nozzlein its outermostprojected position. Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the nozzle retracted. Fig. 3 is a de- 3 5 tailed view of the nozzle-actuating spring and the clearer-rod. Fig. 4 is a detailed view of the socket or cage for the spring. Fig. 5 is a detailed view of a modification.

Referring now to the details of construction illustrated in the drawings, the can-body 1, which may be of any desired form suitable for the purpose, is provided with an internally-screw-threaded neck 2, with which ongages a tubular cap 3, preferably having a milled edge 4 and a packing-ring 5 to engage with the upper edge of the neck 2 when the cap is screwed on in order to prevent leakage of the oil. The interior of that portion of cap 3 extending below the flange 4 is screwthreaded, and the hollow cage or socket 6,

having at its top a screw-threaded portion, is designed to engage this portionof the device.

The cage or socket 6 has an open top and is shown as provided with a plurality of lateral openings 7 and with a bottom opening 8 in order to permit the ready inflow and outflow of oil. The spout or nozzle 9 is provided at its bottom With a rim 10, which rests upon the top of a coiled spring 11 of approximately the same diameter as the interior of the cage 6. The wire from which the coil 11 is formed is shown as extending from the bottom upward through the center of the coil and through the nozzle nearly to the top of the latter when it is in its projected position, thus forming the clearer-rod 12. The nozzle is supported and guided by the upwardly-extending portion of the cap 3, with which it makes a reasonably close fit,.such as to permit easy longitudinal movement. The nozzle is provided with a projecting ring 13 at such distance above its lower end as will enable the user to readily grasp the same in order to depress the nozzle when the flow of oil through it is obstructed.

Instead of forming the clearer-rod 12 and the coil 11 from a single piece of wire the rod may be separately formed and soldered or otherwise fastened to a ring 14, that rests upon the bottom of the cage. With this arrangement the lower end of the spring and the ring 14 may be fastened together or they may. be independent of each other, as may be desired.

Instead of having the cage 6 screwed into the tubular cap 3, as indicated, it may be secured thereto in any other convenient manner, or the cage 6 may have its side walls integral with or suitably connected to the tubular cap 3 and be provided with a detachable bottom-as, for instance, by having a screw threaded cap taking over screw-threads on the lower end of the cage, as will be readily understood, the object being to provide a cage which is either detachable from its supporting means or which is provided with a de tachable part, so that the spring and clearerrod can be readily removed for the purpose of cleaning or to permit any of the parts to be replaced by another.

It will be understood from the illustrations and the foregoing description that the several parts of my device are readily assembled for use and that they may be with equal facility separated when it is necessary or desirable for cleaning purposes or when it is desired to replace a broken or Worn-out plate by a new one. v

The construction of the cage 6 with the side and bottom openings and the relation of the spring to the rod therein are such that there is little danger of clogging the can by impurities in the oil; but in case the openings in the cage should become obstructed the removal of the spring therefrom will serve to remove any impurities, and the spring may itself be readily cleaned or replaced by another.

In the use of cans of the character illustrated and described the spout or clearer-rod frequently becomes bent or broken by reason of the user jamming the can too forcibly into the oil hole. In all cans of this character heretofore constructed the breaking or bending of either the spout or the clearer-rod necessitates the discarding of the entire can or at least of all but the body portion thereof. By

making the cage detachable, as above de-' scribed, it will be readily observed that if either the nozzle or clearer-rod becomes bent or broken the parts can be readily discon' nected and a new nozzle or clearer-rod substituted in place of the old, thereby obviating the loss that heretofore occurred.

Having now fully described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is

1. An oil-can comprising a body portion, a longitudinally-movable nozzle,a perforated or skeleton cage below the nozzle and inclosing its base, a spring removably located in the cage and bearing against the lower end of the nozzle, and a clearer-rod projecting into the nozzle and resting on butnot attached to the bottom of the cage.

2. An oil-can comprising a body portion, a longitudinally-movable nozzle,a perforated or skeleton cage depending from the top of the body portion and detachably secured thereto, a spring removably located in said cage, and a clearer-rod projecting into the nozzle and having its base resting on but not attached to the bottom of the cage.

3.v An oil-can comprising the can-body, a tubular cap therefor, a longitudinally-movable nozzle, a perforated or skeleton cage detachably secured to the tubular cap, a spring in said cage and a clearer-rod projecting into the nozzle and supported by but not attached to said cage.

In testimony whereof I, the said ROBERT LOWE, have hereunto set my hand.

ROBERT LOWE. Vitnesses:

GRACE (J. RAYMOND, ROBERT C. TOTTEN. 

